Foreign Purchaser Stamp Duty Surcharges: A State-by-State Guide for Expats

Here’s a quirk of buying property in Australia that catches expats cold: there’s no single national rule for the “foreign buyer” surcharge. Each state and territory runs its own version, with its own rate, its own definitions, and its own traps. So the very same person buying the very same priced house can pay tens of thousands more, or nothing extra at all, depending purely on which side of a state border the property sits.

If you’re an Aussie living overseas (or anyone the taxman might label “foreign”) thinking about buying back home, this is the lay of the land across the country. We’ve got more detailed companion pieces on the annual land tax surcharges in Victoria and NSW and a deep-dive on the NSW stamp duty surcharge specifically. This one is the national overview.

First, two things the old guides get wrong

Two corrections before we go state by state, because they matter.

First, these surcharges apply to residential property, not commercial. You’ll see claims that they hit “residential or commercial” purchases; that’s wrong. The whole point is to cool foreign demand for housing, so commercial property generally sits outside the surcharge net.

Second, the rates have all moved (upward, naturally) and several older articles quote figures that are years out of date. So here’s the current picture as at 2026.

The one-off stamp duty surcharge, state by state

This is the extra slug of duty a foreign person pays once, at purchase, on top of ordinary stamp duty. As at 2026, the rates are:

New South Wales: 9%, the highest in the country, having risen from 8% on 1 January 2025. Victoria: 8% (its “foreign purchaser additional duty”). Queensland: 8% (its “additional foreign acquirer duty”, or AFAD, up from 7%). Tasmania: 8%. Western Australia: 7%. South Australia: 7%. And the two that charge nothing: the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory impose no foreign buyer stamp duty surcharge at all.

To put that in dollars: on a $1 million residential purchase, the surcharge alone is $90,000 in NSW, $80,000 in Victoria, Queensland or Tasmania, $70,000 in WA or SA, and zero in the ACT or NT. That’s before you’ve paid a cent of ordinary stamp duty. The border you buy across genuinely matters.

Don’t forget the second surcharge: annual land tax

The stamp duty hit is only half the story, and it’s the half people remember. The sneakier half is the annual land tax surcharge that several states levy on foreign owners every single year you hold the property. NSW (5%) and Victoria (its 4% “absentee owner surcharge”) are the big ones, and Queensland, Tasmania and others have their own versions, while the ACT and NT again sit it out.

This recurring cost compounds quietly in the background and can dwarf the one-off stamp duty over a long hold. We’ve covered it properly in our land tax surcharge article, but the headline is: budget for both the one-off and the annual, not just the one you’ll notice at settlement.

Who actually counts as “foreign”?

Each state writes its own definition, but the broad shape is consistent, and it’s where citizenship and tax status diverge. You’re generally a foreign person if you’re not an Australian citizen and not a permanent resident who’s genuinely living here, with several states applying a test based on days physically present in Australia. Companies and trusts can be caught too where a foreign interest sits behind them, which makes family discretionary trusts a notorious trap.

The crucial point for expats: an Australian citizen overseas generally isn’t caught, but an Australian permanent resident who’s been living abroad, or a temporary visa holder, very often is. The definitions differ enough between states that you genuinely need to check the rules of the specific state you’re buying in, not assume.

The treaty exemption that disappeared nationally

For a while, citizens of certain treaty countries (New Zealand, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland) were treated as exempt from these surcharges in some states, on the basis that Australia’s tax treaties overrode the state laws.

That’s over. Because the treaties operate as federal law, the Commonwealth amended the federal law (through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Act 2024, effective 8 April 2024) to confirm that the foreign purchaser surcharges prevail. So citizens of those countries can no longer rely on a treaty exemption. If you’ve read older advice suggesting your nationality lets you off, that advice has expired.

Are there any exemptions or concessions?

Some, and they’re state-specific. The common threads: Australian citizens are generally exempt everywhere a surcharge exists; permanent residents and certain New Zealand (subclass 444) and partner visa holders can be exempt where they meet a residency test (often around 200 days of physical presence); and several states offer concessions or refunds for foreign-owned developers who build new housing, on the logic that they’re adding to supply rather than competing for existing stock. The conditions are fiddly and vary by state, so these are worth confirming for your exact situation rather than assuming.

A word on the worked examples you’ll see online

Treat the dramatic dollar figures in older articles with suspicion. Some quote surcharge totals that exceed the value of the property, which is simply garbled arithmetic. The real numbers are painful enough: a flat percentage (7% to 9% depending on the state) of the dutiable value, on top of ordinary stamp duty, plus the annual land tax surcharge where it applies. Use the relevant state revenue office’s own calculator, or get a proper estimate from your conveyancer or us, rather than trusting a scary number from a blog.

The bottom line

Foreign purchaser surcharges aren’t one tax, they’re eight different regimes (well, six that charge and two that don’t). As at 2026, the one-off stamp duty surcharge runs 9% in NSW, 8% in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, 7% in WA and SA, and nothing in the ACT and NT, with separate annual land tax surcharges layered on top in several states. Whether you’re caught depends on a “foreign person” definition that hinges on residency, not citizenship, the old treaty exemptions are gone, and the rules differ enough between states that the same purchase can cost wildly different amounts. Work out your status, and your total cost, before you fall for a property.

Tread your own path. Just check what the surcharge does to it in the state you’re buying in.

Buying across a state border? Let’s work out your real cost first.

Whether you’re a “foreign person”, which state stings you hardest, whether any exemption applies, and how the one-off and annual surcharges stack up are all questions worth answering before you sign. Get it wrong and the surprise can run to six figures over the life of the investment.

Our specialist expatriate tax team can assess your residency and surcharge position across any state, and how it interacts with the federal capital gains and withholding rules when you eventually sell, working remotely with Aussies and expats all over the world.

Book an appointment with our expat tax specialists today, ideally before you commit to a purchase. Your future self, and your hip pocket, will thank you.

General information only. This article doesn’t consider your personal circumstances and isn’t tax, financial or legal advice. State surcharge rules and rates change frequently, differ between states, and are administered by each state revenue office. Speak to our specialist expatriate tax team today, a conveyancer or solicitor in the relevant state, or another registered tax agent, before acting.

References

1. Revenue NSW, “Surcharge purchaser duty” (the 9% NSW rate from 1 January 2025): revenue.nsw.gov.au
2. State Revenue Office Victoria, “Foreign purchaser additional duty” (the 8% Victorian rate): sro.vic.gov.au
3. Queensland Revenue Office, “Additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD)” (the 8% Queensland rate on residential acquisitions by foreign persons): qro.qld.gov.au
4. RevenueSA, “Foreign ownership surcharge” (the 7% South Australian rate): revenuesa.sa.gov.au
5. Government of Western Australia, RevenueWA, “Foreign transfer duty” (the 7% Western Australian rate): wa.gov.au
6. State Revenue Office Tasmania, “Foreign Investor Duty Surcharge” (the 8% Tasmanian rate): sro.tas.gov.au
7. Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Act 2024 (Cth) (confirming state foreign purchaser surcharges prevail over inconsistent tax treaties, effective 8 April 2024): legislation.gov.au